questions & answers

Question: I currently live in an apartment. The complex charges for the general water sewer and trash but they also charge for a trash service separate from the az trash fee and it is not optional according to the leasing office. Are they allowed to do this or would this type of service have to be considered and option for residents to want to do? Is it illegal to charge for 2 trash services?

Answer: As a general rule, a landlord may include within a rental agreement any term or condition that is not prohibited by Arizona law (A.R.S. 33-1314), so in principle such an additional trash service charge may be permissible. However, knowing neither what your lease says nor how the two trash service charges have been described and explained, it is impossible to say whether or not your landlord is acting appropriately. The Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (A.R.S. Title 33 Chapter 10) discusses this matter in A.R.S. 33-1314.01: “A. A landlord may charge separately for gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity by installing a submetering system or by allocating the charges separately through a ratio utility billing system. B. If a landlord charges separately for a utility pursuant to subsection A, the landlord may recover the charges imposed on the landlord by the utility provider plus an administrative fee for the landlord for actual administrative costs only. The landlord shall not impose any additional charges. The rental agreement shall contain a disclosure that lists the utility services that are charged separately and shall specify the amount of any administrative fee that is associated with submetering or the use of a ratio utility billing system.” […] F. If a landlord does not use a submetering system and allocates charges separately for gas, water, wastewater, solid waste removal or electricity, the landlord may allocate the costs to each tenant by using one or more of the following ratio utility billing system methods: 1. Per tenant. 2. Proportionately by livable square footage. 3. Per type of unit. 4. Per number of water fixtures. 5. For water and wastewater, by use of an individually submetered hot water usage measure for the tenant's dwelling unit. 6. Any other method that fairly allocates the charges and that is described in the tenant’s rental agreement. You may wish to speak with a tenants’ rights advocate to discuss whether (and, if so, how) or not your specific situation is covered by these or any other provisions.